Assurance and the Fallacy of Affirming the Consequent
By Shawn Lazar There are two standards for evaluating a logical argument. First, is it true? And second, is it valid? When an argument has true premises and is valid, you call it sound. According to the first standard, in order for a logical argument to be true, the premises must be true. That’s common […]
Taking Free Grace Overseas
By Ken Yates Many people in the Free Grace movement were introduced to Free Grace Theology through the ministry of a Bible teacher or pastor. In many of those instances, the teacher had been exposed to that theology in seminary. Often, that seminary was Dallas Theological Seminary. But things have changed. Free Grace Theology […]
The Harsh Hand of Lordship Theology
By Brandon Burdette Years ago I attended a Baptist church in Los Angeles. It was during this period that I’d assimilated as much Reformed theology as I could get my hands on. I was halfway through the membership course in this Calvinist church when one of my worst church experiences occurred. It happened on a […]
Q&A
By Staff Love Q: According to 1 John 3:23, must Christians love one another to be saved? A: Some think 1 John teaches that we must behave a certain way to be saved, or at least to prove we are saved. For example, they say if we don’t love other Christians, then we are not […]
Salvation by the Installment Plan?
By Phil Congdon Many Bible teachers are fond of a saying that goes like this: “You are saved by faith alone, but the faith that saves is never alone.” Doesn’t that sound neat? It states a fundamental truth—that we are saved by faith alone—then turns around and states that while it is faith alone that […]
The Unregenerate Can Respond to God
A chapter from Is Calvinism Biblical? Let the Scriptures Decide (available Dec 1, 2017). By Bob Wilkin Calvinists think of unregenerate people as cadavers. That is, they see them as totally unable to respond to God in a saving way—or in any way. They often cite Rom 3:11 which says, “There is none who seeks […]
Legalism: No Laughing Matter
By Ken Yates Nevertheless, what does the Scripture say? “Cast out the bondwoman and her son, for the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the freewoman.” So then, brethren, we are not children of the bondwoman but of the free (Gal 4:30-31). Defining Legalism If we were to define […]
The Bread of Life: Why Faith Precedes Regeneration (John 6:35)
By Bob Wilkin A chapter from Crushing Calvinism: Twelve Key Verses One of the main aspects of the Calvinist understanding of total depravity—the T in TULIP—is that regeneration precedes faith. Unfortunately, most Evangelicals do not know what that means and so they are likely to accept the first point of Calvinism, thinking that total depravity […]
A Sad Day of Reckoning (Matthew 24:45-51)
By Ken Yates At the end of Matthew 24, Jesus gives a parable about a servant. The point of the parable is that a servant can either be a good and faithful servant or an evil and unfaithful one. The good servant does what his master tells him by serving his fellow servants. The evil […]
Chosen to Bear Fruit: Election in John’s Gospel
By Shawn Lazar A chapter from Chosen to Serve: Why Election Is for Service, Not for Eternal Life Do you remember when it was time to give oral presentations in class? It was always nerve-wracking for me. When the teacher picked up her list of names and started randomly choosing who would go next, I […]